The present invention relates generally to automatic performance apparatus, such as sequencers, automatic accompaniment apparatus and automatic rhythm performance apparatus, and more particularly to an improved music performance data processing method and apparatus which are arranged to control a visual display that can be used easily by a user in creating/editing performance data.
Hitherto, sequencer-type automatic performance apparatus have been known which store performance data (performance information) input via an electronic musical instrument's keyboard, computer and the like. With such automatic performance apparatus, a user can not only freely create performance data of desired performance tones but also freely edit stored performance data as desired. That is, these automatic performance apparatus are equipped with various functions that allow the user to readily make and edit the performance data. Among these functions are one for window-displaying a performance data editing screen in a predetermined format or form so that the user is to enter performance data and arrange and edit the performance data with a high degree of flexibility. Examples of the window-displayed performance data editing screen include: a track view window via which the user is allowed to create a music piece by sequentially pasting block data (each block data comprises performance data of a predetermined unit of a music piece such as a measure) at optionally-selected points of the measures or beats for each of tracks displayed on the screen; a staff window via which the user is allowed to enter performance data by just pasting notes, symbols etc. onto a musical score (e.g., a staff); a list window via which the user is allowed to finely enter performance data, such as tone pitch data, of each note in a numerical value; a piano roll window via which the user is allowed to enter performance data by graphically editing key depression timing and duration or time length of each key depression on a piano or other keyboard instrument; and a drum window via which the user is allowed to enter performance data only for a rhythm part. Each user can cause a plurality of performance data editing screens to be window-displayed simultaneously so that creation/editing of the performance data can be performed easily through these window-displayed performance data editing screens; thus, a wide variety of users, from only beginners to power users, can create full-scale music pieces in a smooth manner. Operations such as for displaying and entering the performance data via the performance data editing screens are being performed by performance data processing apparatus.
In creating performance data or editing desired existing performance data, the conventionally-known performance data processing apparatus always window-display, as an initial screen, a performance data editing screen of a fixed form (e.g., in the form of a track view window). Some users, however, want to or have to use, as the initial screen, a different performance data editing screen than the screen of the fixed form (e.g., a staff track view window or piano roll window); even in these cases, the conventional apparatus can only window-display the performance data editing screen of the fixed form as the initial screen. Therefore, whenever an initial performance data editing screen of a user desired form is to be displayed, the user has to input predetermined commands to the apparatus through cumbersome inputting operations.
Further, in creating performance data or editing desired existing performance data, each user can set and input one or more pointers or markers for indicating desired locations of window-displayed performance data, and predetermined repeat marks each for instructing a repetitive performance of a particular tone, tone type or measure in the performance data. However, if the marker and repeat mark are set and input to a same location of the performance data in an overlapping fashion, only one of the marker and repeat mark would be actually displayed at that location. Such a display does not allow the user to clearly identify the settings and thus would present inconvenience in editing of the performance data. In addition, although the conventional performance data processing apparatus permit setting and inputting of a repeat mark (such as a mark of mere repeat, dal segno or da capo) instructing a repetitive performance of many measures, they do not permit setting and inputting of a repeat mark for instructing a repetitive performance of just one, two, three or four measures immediately preceding the repeat mark, or a repeat mark for instructing a repetitive performance of just one tone immediately preceding the repeat mark (hereinafter, such a repeat mark effective only for a relatively short performance range will be referred to as a “partial repeat mark”).
Furthermore, some of the conventionally-known performance data processing apparatus are designed to display chord names of performance tones on the display screen when window-displaying the performance data editing screen. However, for this purpose, it has been conventional from the apparatus to display chord name data just as stored among the performance data; that is, the known performance data processing apparatus are never arranged to display the chord name data in correspondence with predetermined chord notation for a designated transposing instrument such as a wind instrument (e.g., trumpet, saxophone or the like), so that they provide a very poor convenience of use or operability to a user making a music piece for a transposing instrument and present significant inconvenience in performance data editing.